


Saying It First and First Moves

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, First Time, Firsts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Music, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4070476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor explore the 'firsts' of domesticity</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saying It First and First Moves

The moment the TARDIS left, Rose felt the Doctor give her hand a little squeeze, and decided to mimic the action on him.  It's only fair. 

Jackie stands a ways away from them, her mobile already out and to her ear.  Calling Pete to come get them, no doubt.  She looked over and mouthed "zeppelin" at Rose, who nodded slowly. 

"Ever ridden in a zeppelin?" She asked quietly.

He regarded her for a moment, and then shook his head.  "Never needed to."

She ducked her head and pulled her hand from his, feeling unbelievably embarrassed.  "Right," she said, heading towards her mother.  "Of course not, I'm sorry."

The Doctor reached out and gripped her wrist, and when she turned, she saw a panicked look on his face.  "I didn't say I never wanted to."

Unbidden, a small smile crept across her face.

It was about two minutes after taking off in the zeppelin that the Doctor had started to drift off.  He enthused about the take off, and Rose could tell he was genuinely excited, but also genuinely exhausted.  He made a valiant effort to stay awake, but Rose still grinned when his head tipped over to rest on her shoulder and he fell asleep, his hand still in hers. 

She ran her thumb over his knuckle, still not quite believing what had happened.  It was sort of hard to believe that this man was the Doctor, but on the other hand, the one that was in his, it wasn't hard at all.  He'd sort of proved that on the beach. 

He didn't snore, he was a gentle sleeper, just like the Doctor was.  He _was_ the Doctor.  She only knew that because they'd shared a bed in prison cells.  She wondered to herself if they would share a bed tonight.  She sort of wanted them to, but she didn't want to rush him.  It was a lot, this, and he'd been through enough.

Yes, the only thing she wanted was to make him comfortable, not send him running.  So she'd show him to a guest room.  It was the polite thing to do, after all.  Really, really polite.

But she'd never been polite with the Doctor.  They'd always been best mates, and until Sarah Jane and Reinette, hurting each other's feelings had never been a real issue.  She sighed and tilted her head against the Doctor, enjoying the feel of his hair on her face.  Really, really great hair.

The zeppelin landed with a jolt at the Tyler's mansion, startling the Doctor awake.  He looked a little sad at that fact.  "I wanted to keep you company," he said softly.

Rose smiled, couldn't help it.  "You did." She promised. 

He bent down and pressed the quickest kiss imaginable to her cheek as they stood and stretched their legs.  It didn't go unnoticed by one Jackie Tyler.

As Rose descended from the zeppelin first, a little toddler ran up to Rose, doing his best to shout her name.  He threw himself into her waiting arms, laughing gleefully.  Pete Tyler exited the mansion behind him and hugged and kissed his wife before embracing Rose.

The Doctor stood sheepishly behind all the domestic action until Rose turned around.  She beckoned him forward.  "Dad, you remember the Doctor," she said as he approached.

"I do," Pete held his hand out and the Doctor shook it.  "Owe you a lot."

The Doctor smiled sheepishly.  "Well, it's a long story," he laughed uncertainly.

"I'll tell it," Jackie said reassuringly.  "It's getting late anyways, so you two'd best get to bed."

Rose inwardly bristled at the word.  She had to remind herself that tonight was about the Doctor's comfort, not her silly feeling of wanting to hold him, to remember he was there.

They walked into the mansion, and Rose pulled the Doctor up the giant staircase and towards the west wing.

"Mum hired some people to fix the place up.  There's staff, but I doubt they'll come near us tonight, too much upset going on," Rose said, trying to pass the time with words.  "You can have the room across from mine, if you'd like."

"I'd like that," the Doctor said softly. 

Rose stopped them off at a closet to pull jimjams and towels out of it, and handed them to the Doctor.  She pulled him along the rest of the hallway and gestured to the door across from hers.  "Here you are," she said, rocking back on her heels.  "Goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight."  He gave her a weak smile.  Rose started to head to her room, but the Doctor stopped her with a quiet "Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?"  She asked, turning back to give him her full attention.

"I don't expect you to say it back," he cast his gaze down and shuffled his feet.  "But I love you."

Rose's lip twitched at his uncertainty.  "Nothing's changed, Doctor.  I love you too."

The shock and awe on his happy face when he looked up at her made her smile even wider.

*****

They were still tactical as hell, dancing around the issue but always saying their 'I love you's' before bed, because the Doctor was determined to say it as many times as he possibly could to make for all the times he didn't.

"I'm going to make you a list," he said firmly.  "Of all the times I wanted to kiss you and didn't."

Unfortunately, they hadn't kissed since the day on the beach.  She'd wanted to kiss him, oh how she'd wanted to, but she wanted him to make the first move this time, because he'd never done.  And she was starting to think he never would.

Eventually, Rose decided that the Doctor could not go around wearing that one suit and old clothes of Pete's.  She dragged him off on a shopping trip three days after his arrival. 

They bought everything a man could need, and the intimacy of a woman buying a man clothes seemed to escape the Doctor.  But it was done.  The Doctor still had a weakness for chucks and suits, but Rose insisted that he couldn't wear a suit every day, and so the Doctor gravitated immediately to the novelty tshirts or just regular button down shirts. 

He was a classy man, and Rose found that she was rather in love with that whole idea.  She helped him pick ties, and she watched as his eyes drifted to a brown pinstriped suit that was almost identical to that of the other universe's Doctor.

And that's when it hit her.  This universe needed a Doctor.  That's what it was.  That's all it was.  This man was this universe's Doctor.  And he was hers.

"Don't you want it?" She asked quietly.

He nodded slowly without meeting her gaze.  "Figured you wouldn't want me to."

"I think you look great in it," she replied.  "If you want it, I think you should get it."

He looked down at her.  "You wouldn't mind?"

"Why would I?" She asked, furrowing her brows.  "You're the Doctor."

And that was what settled it.

***

She helped him hang up everything new in his closet, and fold things for his drawers, even the underwear, which was a new level of domestic intimacy that didn't escape her in the slightest.  Every piece was meticulously folded or hung, looking genuinely lovely and genuinely Doctor.

"There," she said when they finished, putting her hands on her hips.  "Looks gorgeous, I think."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Rose Tyler, master folder."

"Queen of the cross-fold."

"Lady of the Lapel."

"Princess of the Plimsolls."

They both giggled at themselves and Rose, on impulse, went over to wrap her arms around his neck.  He clutched at her waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck, and she realized it had been their first real touch since the kiss.

"I love you," he said earnestly against her skin."

"I love you too," she replied.  One of these days, she was going to beat him to it again.  She was going to say it first.

***

All was well with the Doctor until his nightmares started.  Whether it was a filter from the other Doctor or genuinely his fears, Rose didn't know.  All she knew was that almost every night, she heard him crying out in his sleep and resisted the urge to go to him.

One night, he wouldn't stop.  He was in pain, he was hurting so badly, she could almost feel it, and it tore her heart apart.  She sprung out of her bed and rushed across the hall, not bothering with a dressing gown or anything else, for that matter.

"Doctor?" She called when she entered the room.  There was nothing, just the Doctor writhing around in bed, yelling.

Her heart wrenched and she went to him, and pinned his arms to the bed, his wrists slick with sweat.  A thin sheen of it also coated his upper lip and forehead as he panted for breath. 

"Doctor!" She cried, and his eyes flew open.  He shot to a sitting up position, panting wildly.  He looked at Rose and tears brimmed in his eyes.

"Rose," he choked out.

"I'm here," she said reassuringly, and he lunged forward to hold her. He cried, honestly cried, and Rose thought she probably felt her heart break.

There was nothing to be done; she simply held him as he let it out, clutching to her as if she were his only lifeline left in the world.  She pressed a kiss to his temple and murmured comforting words in his ear.

She stopped murmuring when he started saying long, musical words into her ear. She listened as he choked them out through sobs, and she rubbed his back, eager to hear.

Finally, he stopped.

"What were you doing?" She asked.

"Talking to you," he said quietly, "In Gallifreyan."

Her heart soared at the thought.  "What were you sayin'?"

The Doctor paused, but he wanted to tell her.  Oh, how he wanted to tell her.  And he was tired of holding back, so he did.  "I was telling you how precious you are to me."

"It's cause of me you can't see the stars," she said, feeling guilty.

"Rose Tyler, _you_ are my stars now," he replied simply.

She clutched at him tighter, and he shuddered out a long sigh.

"What were you dreaming about?" She asked quietly.

"You, it's always you, getting hurt, and I can't stop it.  I can never stop it."  He pulled her tighter to him.  "I can never stop it."

"M'not gonna get hurt," she promised. 

"Will you stay, Rose?  I need to know you're alright."

She tried to restrain her excitement at the thought.  "Yes.  I'll stay."

The two of them laid down, and Rose pulled the blanket around them, kissing his forehead and murmuring it first before snuggling in his arms.

***

The first time he made the first move was two weeks after he arrived in Pete's World.  The Doctor had treated Rose to a music festival, and she, being the Vitex heiress, got a bit of special treatment.  They were secluded.

"I love you," the Doctor said, over the loud music.

This wasn't really the band Rose had come to see, they'd already seen them, so she turned and grinned at him.  "I love you too," she replied.

"Will you let me show you?"  He asked, loudly, with hope lit all over his face.

She turned herself to fully face him.  "Yes."

He cupped her cheeks with his hands, and Rose set her hands on his waist, not daring to anticipate what she thought might happen.  He searched her eyes, even though he had permission and approval.  He dipped his head and nudged her nose with his.

Her breath hitched and she waited.  She wanted him to make this move.  And he did.

He leaned farther down and pressed his lips to hers, and Rose melted into him, relieved.

It started out chaste, it started out very music-festival friendly.  But they'd been too close without having any tension resolved.  Rose prodded his bottom lip with her tongue and he opened his mouth in rely so fast that she had to suppress a smile against his mouth.  The kiss became heated very quickly, and Rose's head swam with all the things she wanted to do to this brilliant man, to claim him, so that no other woman could ever look at him again without her explicit permission.

Good word, that.  Explicit.

She tugged him closer, and they were so engulfed in each other that if the whole band had stripped naked, neither would've noticed. 

"We're going home," she said hoarsely, and he was in no mood to object.

By some miraculous twist of fate, they managed to get home and into their now shared bedroom without being spotted by Jackie.  Unfortunately, they had never used it for anything other than sleeping, but that was certainly about to change.

Rose pulled the Doctor's t-shirt over his head so fast that he wasn't even sure that their lips parted while she did it.  She toed off her shoes without moving her mouth from his, and he followed suit.

It was hard to follow suit fused together like this, but they were willing to give anything a go.

Clothes were shed in record time and the Doctor was still having trouble moving his eyes from Rose's, just because he liked looking at the love in them.

"Love you," she whispered, and he grinned, reaching over to lock the door.

"Rose Tyler, I love you," he said dramatically, making her giggle.  "And I plan to show you just how much right this very moment."

Their first time was in a heated moment that neither would forget, and when Jackie asked why they didn't leave their room for a whole day, they said the Doctor didn't feel well.

That was their first lie.

They had so many firsts, that she fell in love with him almost every day.


End file.
